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IBHJ Chapter 677
🕑 Added 2024-01-19 02:50:13 +0000 UTCOne after another, massive stones shot into the sky, then streaked down like meteors toward the Jotunheimr Gate, trying to smash through to the interior. However, they were destroyed by the primordial runes glowing in the air.
Shirou and Thrud walked atop the gently glowing, snow-white walls of the gate.
Peering down at the ghastly land outside, filled with misshapen frost and mountain giants, he carefully counted over 30,000 just within sight. The tallest towered about 40 meters, a third of the height of the Jotunheimr Gate itself, while the shortest was only 3 meters tall. They looked up and unleashed deafening roars, either charging the gate or using huge catapults to hurl gigantic boulders.
However, their offensive posed no real threat to the gate. Still, this scene reminded him of when he had constructed the defensive line to defend against Vortigern.
If Midgard was like Camelot, then without a doubt, the Jotunheimr Gate was like the defensive line he had built in Cornwall.
Of course, the gate Skaði created far surpassed the one he had made. Hers was built using divine power. It also had powerful primordial runes attached, as well as a grand bounded field encompassing the whole area!
The amount of mana needed was simply unimaginable!
Most unbelievable was that Skaði had kept this up for over 2000 years!
It was beyond comprehension. One could only say this was truly the work of a goddess!
And according to Thrud's words, the power of Eternal King was equal to Skaði's. This was something he could understand. Eternal King's achievements were ending Britain's dark turmoil, destroying the resurgence of the Age of Gods, and vanquishing the great enemies of mankind - the origin of the Dead Apostles and Dead Apostle Ancestors, Crimson Moon.
Of course, those feats alone couldn't raise Eternal King's rank so high. The real reason Eternal King was more powerful than others was because of his historical legacy, which had an enormous impact on human history.
And this led to Eternal King becoming a spiritual imprint ingrained in human history. So the rank of Eternal King became very high. After all, he had brought knowledge and technology from the future to the past, and the past passed this legacy down to the future.
Of course, this was originally a paradox that the Throne of Heroes wouldn't acknowledge. But he returned to the past through the Root - the Akashic Record where everything began. The Root's relationship with the world was fundamental, like stem cells to progenitor cells, so everything revolved around it. Therefore, Eternal King's paradox was acknowledged.
The future technology and knowledge passed from the past to the future would naturally make future humans revere the ancient people's wisdom. So countless legends of Eternal King and his enormous impact on human history caused his rank to rise without limit, equaling Skaði's.
...
Thrud had the Valkyries scan the Jotunheim Gate to find how the giants were getting through and approaching Village No. 23.
Watching the giants attack the gate, he couldn't help but turn to her and ask, "There's no garrison here to fight them off?"
"No," she shook her head. "We just don't have the people anymore. And compared to other gates, Jotunheimr isn't facing that big of an offensive. These giants can't break through the gate anyway."
It seemed the cloning process to create the Valkyries was harsh, Shirou thought to himself. If it wasn't so difficult, perhaps she wouldn't have mentioned their lack of people. The gate might not have been left undefended either, which led to the human sacrifice incident in Village 23. Still, he disagreed with her confident claim that the frost giants couldn't breach the gate.
After all, even a small flaw in foundation can cause a thousand-mile bridge to collapse. Failure often comes from the least expected place. But considering her situation, he kept that thought to himself.
"Big sis! I figured out how those frost giants were able to pass through the gate!" the red-haired Valkyrie called out.
"Oh? Tell me."
"At section seventeen on the gate wall, the ‘Destruction’ and ‘Creation’ runes were repelling each other. It made this small, invisible gap. Some Jotunheim giants must've taken advantage and squeezed a few of their small raiders through," she explained.
"What?!" Thrud exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't worry, big sis. Three sisters have already repaired it. No more frost giants will enter Midgard through that gap."
At this time, Shirou interjected, "No, it's not that simple."
Thrud and the Valkyrie turned to look at him.
He said, "We already know the gap allowed the giants to enter Midgard. But we don't know how long it existed or how many giants went in. Most importantly, the giants who entered might not have left but instead found another place to settle in Midgard. So I suggest you thoroughly investigate, just to be safe."
"That's a good idea, Your Majesty. B 224, connect to the network and take a close look around with the Hraesvelgr's Eyes," Thrud quickly replied. She also felt the urgency of the situation.
"Yes," said the red-haired Valkyrie, immediately beginning a thorough scan.
Shirou studied that Valkyrie for a moment, then turned to Thrud. "Miss Thrud, can I ask you something? Under normal circumstances, could you find problems with the gate by observing through the network like this? I'm talking about abnormalities like the runic reaction happening now."
"Definitely," she nodded. "The network's computational power is extremely high. The Eyes would clearly show any gate anomalies, including unusual reactions like this."
"So this situation is quite unusual?" He asked. "Let me ask another question. Only those Valkyries can access the network, right?" He was referring to the clones but was polite enough not to put it so directly.
"Yes," she nodded, then her eyes widened as she looked at him. "What are you trying to say, Eternal King?"
"I've given you enough hints, so my meaning should be clear," Shirou smiled. "You have a spy among you. Someone is using the network to obscure what the Eyes see, preventing the other Valkyries from remotely detecting abnormalities with the gate."
"No! That's impossible!" she exclaimed. "My sisters would never!"
"Not that they wouldn't, but rather their implanted thoughts lack awareness in that area, is that what you're trying to say?" He asked, still smiling.
Seeing his smile, she instinctively took a step back, her gaze fixed tightly on him, her complexion becoming rather terrified.
"Don't get so wary of me just because I figured this out," he smiled reassuringly. "Miss Thrud, remember that I'm a Servant of Chaldea - we're allies. Didn't I let it go when Lady Skaði separated me and Saber from our Master?"
"Y-You knew--?!" Her eyes widened.
"Of course," he nodded. "I also know you were secretly thinking of me as an idiot for believing your words."
How was that possible? How could he know that? Mind reading? Thrud was so frightened she took another step back.
"It's not that I didn't know, I just didn't mind," said Shirou gently. "Please don't look at me with such scared eyes. I'm bringing this up not to damage our relationship, but to make you pay attention to what I'm trying to say."
After a pause, he said, "Based on what you told me, there must be a Valkyrie using your network to hide the abnormalities with the gate. When I speak of a spy, I don't mean one of your sisters betrayed you. It's possible the giants captured some Valkyries and are using them to manipulate the network. Do you understand what I mean, Miss Thrud?"
She was originally wary of him, but after hearing his words, her expression gradually became grave.
When he finished, she nodded. "I understand. I'll pass this information to my sisters right away."
He nodded back. "Our interests are aligned in this matter, so please do."
Not waiting for further discussion, she quickly contacted Asgard.
Comments
Azelios Rosemile
I mean, Eternal King is Up there with King of Heroes and King of Magic.
JeanMartin Freites
I appreciate the clarification on why the Eternal King is ranked so high. Also the intellect is something that is quite crucial to him and it's always nice to see implemented.
